Graceful Ladies

Last night we had a girls dinner at Grace! I have been there a couple of times before but this summer they have been running a special called Wine Me, Dine Me. They present a 4 course menu with each item pared with a complimentary wine. I started with the mushroom salad, which was great, but I was definitely jealous of those that ordered the pork shoulder, it was so good! For the second course, I subbed out the potato soup and enjoyed the gazpacho. For my main course, I had the short rib tortellini, which was so incredible, I have been dreaming about it all day. I could have eaten several servings of this. For dessert, everyone ordered the profiteroles except Lindsay (who doesn't like chocolate????). After spending a fabulous 3 hours at dinner, I left craving a hot bath and my bed. It was a wonderful evening with good food and great friends. Here is a pic we were able to get post meal.

Haddy, Kristin, Me, Lindsay, Michele, Beth and Lisa

Girl's Weekend!

Over the weekend, Alli, Julie, Wynne, Mandy and I got together in Fort Worth. Friday night we went to Grady's for an amazing dinner. I have been wanting to try it for a while so I was really excited when Mandy suggested it. The meal did not disappoint. We all left so full and fulfilled.

After dinner, we went back to my house to meet up with Alli since she was driving in from Houston after work. We sat outside for the remainder of the night and drank wine. It was so nice. Taylor came over after his baseball game and Clark joined us too before we called it a night.

Saturday, we went to lunch at The Lunch Box. I have driven by this place on Camp Bowie numerous times and was excited to try it out. The decor was all green and yellow, just like Baylor and it reminded me of a more casual tea room. I had the quiche and it was yummy. After lunch, we went to Mandy's in law's house to swim and layout for the remainder of the afternoon.

Alli, Mandy, Wynne & I at lunch

Mandy & I

Wynne & Alli

Julie was joining us later in the afternoon because she ran a 15K that morning in Dallas so she spent most of the day resting from that. We were all very impressed with her accomplishment! Once she arrived, we got ready to go to Joe T's for dinner. We got there around 8pm and it was packed. I have never seen the line for the patio so long. It took us about an hour to get through it but we had a great time catching up while we waited. Dinner was awesome and we had plenty of left overs for Clark to enjoy.

We headed to 8.0s after dinner for some good people watching and live music. We found a table right by the stage and we had so much fun making new friends (Julie) and dancing to the awesome band. It felt like we were at a wedding reception.

Mandy, Julie, Wynne, Alli & I waiting in line at Joe T's

All in all, it was a much needed fun weekend. Sunday was spent sitting on my couch all day and watching movies. Clark and I ordered pizza and watched the rest of Season 4 of Weeds.

You run, you slide, you hit the bump and take a dive!

Happy Birthday America! The Ruckers had an outstanding weekend in Llano to celebrate. The McMillans were gracious hosts at their Ranch that allowed for the perfect backdrop to a memorable holiday. Thursday afternoon, Clark, Brad and I headed down to Horseshoe Bay for the night to see Dustin at camp. We ate at the Tall Texan and then hung out at the pool for a while that night. Clark and I went to bed early because Friday morning we met Steve Baskin at camp to go skiing at 6:30am. It was a great way to wake up and kick off the weekend. After we hung out at camp for a while and saw some old friends, we headed back to HSB to layout poolside until the rest of our party got into town.

Around 1, we made the push to Bluebonnet Cafe to have my all time favorite meal.

• Chicken Tenders
• Fried Okra
• French Fries
• Salad w/ Blue Cheese Dressing
• Rolls with Honey
• Brown Gravy, instead of cream gravy

We then headed to HEB to pick up the groceries for breakfast on Saturday and Sunday. Clark and I love cooking big breakfasts so we had volunteered to make Pete's Tantalizing Tacos, a la Maudies in Austin, and we made a biscuit breakfast casserole on Sunday morning. After all, Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I used to eat a bowl of cereal as an appetizer while my mom made me pancakes or whatever else I wanted in the morning before school.

We arrived at the Ranch around 2pm just as the rest of the group started to arrive. The house and setting were amazing. The bed in our room made me feel like I was sleeping on a cloud. If I could have walked out with it, I would have. Cooper's BBQ capped off Friday night as we stayed up late playing games, talking and dancing.

Saturday, we headed to the Llano river to fry our pasty skin under the sun. It was such a relaxing afternoon of floating around and talking. Even though I applied and re-applied, I still managed to get red. That evening, the boys grilled burgers and made hot dogs. Larkin made 2 amazing cobblers and was nice enough to let me go home with the recipe! We ate so well the entire weekend, diet starts this week. Consider it a 4th of July resolution.

Saturday night I was trying to go to bed but Lisa decided it was a great idea to go slip n sliding. It was only 3am, so this seemed really reasonable. Aside from the dance parties that were had, this was the highlight for me. Haddy, Lisa & I sliding down our lanes while Ryan drenched us with the hose. So fun! I managed to escape without injury however, I have received emails from both Haddy and Lisa discussing their battle wounds.

Courtney, Larkin & Lisa making cobbler!

Cody & Ryan

Captain & Crew

The McMillans with the newly engaged Brooke & Tony!

Lisa, Lindsay & I

Haddy, Lisa & I Slip n Sliding at 3am

Thank you again Richard and Larkin for the hospitality! We know Chanas will never be the same!